Germany charges Croatia ex-spy boss in '83 killing

Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors have charged Croatia's former spy chief with being an accessory to murder in the 1983 killing of a Yugoslav dissident in Bavaria.

Croatia extradited Josip Perkovic to Germany in January to face prosecution over the shooting and beating of Stjepan Djurekovic. The dissident's murder in Wolfratshausen, near Munich, was allegedly carried out by Yugoslavia's secret service, which was notorious for eliminating opponents of the communist regime.

German federal prosecutors said Tuesday that Perkovic — a ranking Yugoslav secret service official in the 1980s who later created independent Croatia's spy agency — was tasked with planning and preparing the killing.

Perkovic has denied having anything to do with the murder. Croatia initially refused to extradite him but amended its laws under pressure from Germany and the European Union.